


After The Trial

by NahaFlowers



Category: Indian Summers (TV)
Genre: F/M, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-04-21
Updated: 2015-04-21
Packaged: 2018-03-25 02:43:17
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,034
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3793678
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/NahaFlowers/pseuds/NahaFlowers
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>After the trial, Sooni had gone to see Ian.  Her parents would have been horrified if she’d told them she was going to meet a British man alone, but Sooni had never been one to do what her parents told her so she just lied that Mr Mukesh needed to see her and hot-footed it to Mr Mcleod’s house.</p>
            </blockquote>





	After The Trial

**Author's Note:**

> Sooni goes to visit Ian after the trial. These two are wonderful so I obviously had to write fic for them

After the trial, Sooni had gone to see Ian. Her parents would have been horrified if she’d told them she was going to meet a British man alone, but Sooni had never been one to do what her parents told her so she just lied that Mr Mukesh needed to see her and hot-footed it to Mr Mcleod’s house.

He was…surprised to see her, to say the least. He didn’t seem to be drunk for once (or at least not too drunk) but his eyes were red-rimmed as if he had been crying and he didn’t notice her until she had followed the path all the way to the house, mounted the steps of his verandah and was standing directly in front of him.

“Mr Mcleod?”

Ian jumped at the sound of her voice and turned around, almost tripping over in his hurry to get to his feet.

“Sooni? What are you doing here?”

Sooni smiled at his use of her first name, so natural on his lips. Ian Mcleod called everyone he was on speaking terms with by their first name, regardless of rank, race or religion, and there was something refreshing about that.

“I came to see if you were alright. After…after what happened at the trial.”

Ian looked shocked for a moment, and touched, before he assembled his features into some semblance of normality. “Oh aye, I’m fine, don’t you worry about me.” He tried to smile at her but he just looked sad.

Sooni sighed, rolling her eyes. Men! They were all the same! But she didn’t want to leave him alone in this state only for him to get drunk out of his mind and end up feeling far worse in the morning. So she walked over to the other side of the little table where Ian had been sat and perched on the chair there. “I’m not leaving,” she said stubbornly. “Not until you talk to me.”

“Oh aren’t you now?” Ian said staring malignantly down at her, but she just held his gaze obstinately until he gave up and collapsed into his chair. “Oh alright then.” He turned to look at her curiously. “But what are you expecting me to say?”

Sooni shrugged. “I don’t know, to be quite honest with you. I just didn’t like the thought of you alone.” She nodded pointedly at the bottle of whisky on the table between them.

“Ah,” said Ian, picking the bottle up and turning it around in his hands. “Aye, you’re probably right, although I never would have expected you to come out here on your own. I’m sorry about last time.”

“What for? Yes, sure, you came crashing out of the undergrowth like a confused rhino but you never did anything ungentlemanly.”

Ian started chuckling at that.

“What?” said Sooni.

“Nothing, nothing. It’s just that’s the first time anyone’s ever called me a gentleman. Even indirectly.”

Sooni smiled a little and they lapsed into a companionable silence. After a few moments he groaned and put his head in his hands, not crying, she thought, but clearly upset.

“I just didn’t want you to blame yourself,” she burst out, surprising them both. Ian just looked at her and smiled painfully again.

“Well, I do. If I hadn’t lost my temper or been such a raging alcoholic I could have got Ramu off. I could have saved him.”

“That’s not true!” she exploded violently. Ian sat up straighter, alarmed by her outbursts. “It’s the system’s fault; it’s all rotten, rotten to the core.”

“That’s as may be. But would Ramu have ever been arrested, or even suspected, if I hadn’t gone to the police in the first place?” Ian shook his head. “I’m such a fool.”

“No, you’re not,” said Sooni, a little more calmly now. “You’re a good man, you were just trying to do the right thing. You can’t be blamed for that.”

Ian looked over at her, a confused smile in his eyes. “Why do you believe in me so much? I thought you hated Britishers?”

“Most of the time, yes. But most of the time they’re going along with or perpetuating the oppressive power structures that keep them in our country and keep us trodden down into the dirt like the dogs they think we are.” Ian winced at the truth in her statement. “But you’re not like that. You stood up against them.”

“Aye. And look where it’s got me.” He gestured at the mess around him, the result of too little sleep and too many drunken nights filled with self-loathing. “Another Mcleod disaster. No reputation, no friends, and by the time this is over, probably no business and no money, either.”

“Do you regret it, then? Standing up for Mr Sood?”

“No. Of course I don’t regret that. I just wish…”

Sooni nodded. “I know. You just wish things had turned out differently.”

Ian smiled absently, then seemed to come to his senses. “You should go. It’s getting quite late.”

Sooni looked at the darkening skies and sighed. “You’re right.” She stood up to go.

“I could walk you back,” he offered, uncertain, half getting to his feet.

“No need. I’ll be perfectly fine,” she said. “Besides, it wouldn’t look proper, if we were to be seen alone together,” she said sarcastically.

Ian nodded. “Good night then.”

“Good night, Mr Mcleod.” They exchanged small smiles and she began walking up the path, then looked back and called over her shoulder. “Oh, and Mr Mcleod, you were wrong about one thing.”

“Oh aye, and what was that?”

“You aren’t without friends. You have me.” With that she turned away and walked home, hoping she had helped, already working out when she could sneak out and visit him again.

Ian watched her until she had disappeared from view and his eyes remained fixed on the point where she had rounded the corner and disappeared for a long time after. Gradually he seemed to become aware of his surrounding and turned around to the table and two chairs. He looked at the bottle on the table and took a step towards it. Then he changed his mind, shook his head, and went to bed.


End file.
